SYNTH ZONE
Visit The Bar For Casual Discussion
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >
Topic Options
#110771 - 11/05/06 08:29 AM Freehand decision!
Bill in Dayton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2207
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
Gang-

After much thought, to me, the smart play here is to buy the most current version available.

Given how often I perform and how critical reliability is to me, I think I'm asking for trouble if I try and save a few bucks and buy a closeout version that has a history of a few bugs and will likely have iffy technical support moving forward.

I'll pick up the accessories, but not the mic stand.

(Uh, if the opening for the mic stand is not standard, would somebody please give me a heads up? Thanks)

I hope this works out for me as well as it has for most of you.

Count on a few questions after I get it!



Bill in Dayton
www.billcorfield.com
_________________________
Bill in Dayton

Top
#110772 - 11/06/06 08:25 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Esh Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/05
Posts: 256
Loc: Hilton Head, SC, USA
Bill:

You'll want the music stand for the Music Pad. It's a $99 ripoff but it's the only way to get the bracket that attaches to the back of the MPP. It also comes with the little silver pole you see in the picture below which is called the "tabletop music stand". Because of the rounded shape of the bottom of the MPP it easily slides off of everything you try to set it on. I've found that the music stand attachment makes it easy to lock the MPP onto my piano's music stand as seen here. You can't live without it.


Top
#110773 - 11/06/06 09:08 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Bill in Dayton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2207
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
Thanks for the heads up!

Bill
_________________________
Bill in Dayton

Top
#110774 - 11/06/06 11:29 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Dnj Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
What does the freehand do that a laptop can't?

Top
#110775 - 11/06/06 07:14 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Esh Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/05
Posts: 256
Loc: Hilton Head, SC, USA
Quote:
Originally posted by Dnj:
What does the freehand do that a laptop can't?


See that picture above? The MPP's dedicated form factor combined with a ready-made stand/clamp that works instantly with my piano was a cool trick.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make a touchpad computer work in place of a Music Pad Pro, and I came up with some ideas but none of them were going to be convenient. So I bought one and it's worked out well despite some of it's drawbacks. I'm always open to better gear so if you got some then bring it.

Top
#110776 - 11/06/06 07:27 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Stephenm52 Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 04/13/05
Posts: 5126
Loc: USA
Quote:
Originally posted by Dnj:
What does the freehand do that a laptop can't?


1. Display is aprox 13" high by 10" wide, that makes for a good fit of lead sheets. My laptop is 14" wide by 9 high. Sheets don't fit as well. You can view the screen in portrait or landscape mode.
2. Ability to create playlists. There's no limit to the number of times a single copy of lyrics/leadsheet can be used on playlists. More than likely you'd have to have multiple copies of a leadsheet on a laptop.
3. Built in jack so that you can use an optional foot pedal to advance pages. Or you can just use the touch screen feature to advance pages.
4. A touch screen that allows you to write on the screen with a stylus. Color choice for what you write on the screen is pretty much unlimited.
5. You can create repeats of your lead sheets. If a lead sheet requires you to return to page 1 after reaching the 3rd page for instance you can simply create a repeat to get back to page 1 while advancing forward. In other words you don't have to touch the screen to go back.
6. Show look ahead pages. While on the current page you get a preview of what's on the next page.
There's a few more, but I find these very useful.

Top
#110777 - 11/06/06 07:45 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Dnj Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
Quote:
Originally posted by Esh:
See that picture above? The MPP's dedicated form factor combined with a ready-made stand/clamp that works instantly with my piano was a cool trick.

I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to make a touch pad computer work in place of a Music Pad Pro, and I came up with some ideas but none of them were going to be convenient. So I bought one and it's worked out well despite some of it's drawbacks. I'm always open to better gear so if you got some then bring it.


i was just wondering ....besides all the fantastic things you can do with a laptop on stage .....could you scan sheet music...save it as a jpeg the just view it on a LT screen also?

Top
#110778 - 11/06/06 07:47 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Bill in Dayton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2207
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
Well, today was a nice day for me...

Ordered a MPP newest version...

Ordered a T2...

Booked two clients for 17 dates next year...

Had lunch with Daughter #2

Had dinner with Daughter #1

Listened to a story from Daughter #3

Not a bad Monday, eh?



[This message has been edited by Bill in Dayton (edited 11-06-2006).]
_________________________
Bill in Dayton

Top
#110779 - 11/06/06 08:07 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Stephenm52 Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 04/13/05
Posts: 5126
Loc: USA
Quote:
Originally posted by Dnj:
i was just wondering ....besides all the fantastic things you can do with a laptop on stage .....could you scan sheet music...save it as a jpeg the just view it on a LT screen also?


Donny you could do that with the LT. IMHO the MPP just makes it easier view the sheets. Overall just a better fit for my taste.

Quote:
Originally posted by Bill in Dayton:
Well, today was a nice day for me...

Ordered a MPP newest version...

Ordered a T2...

Booked two clients for 17 dates next year...

Had lunch with Daughter #2

Had dinner with Daughter #1

Listened to a story from Daughter #3

Not a bad Monday, eh?



Good deal, enjoy those new toys.

[This message has been edited by Stephenm52 (edited 11-06-2006).]

Top
#110780 - 11/06/06 08:26 PM Re: Freehand decision!
DonM Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 06/25/99
Posts: 16735
Loc: Benton, LA, USA
There will always be new equipment, enjoy those GIRLS. They'll be grown and gone before you know it.
DonM
_________________________
DonM

Top
#110781 - 11/06/06 08:37 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Esh Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/05
Posts: 256
Loc: Hilton Head, SC, USA
Quote:
Originally posted by Dnj:
i was just wondering ....besides all the fantastic things you can do with a laptop on stage .....could you scan sheet music...save it as a jpeg the just view it on a LT screen also?



That's where a touchpad comes in... with the Music Pad you can turn the pages back and forth by tapping the screen. I tried to think of ways to make MS Word or Adobe Acrobat do something similar and didn't get too far. I also considered the popular OMB program ShowPlay which displays jpgs and offered similar potential for music display but not as conveniently as the MPP. That's in addition to my secondary goal of having a convenient MP3 player at hand to play my backing tracks, which the MPP v4 offered. By the time I made a laptop do what the MPP did all that I was going to be well over the MPP's price.

MPP's software can do some nice things, like it can edit existing music. Scan a piece of music in and there is a tool in MPP that erases notes without erasing the staff, and then you can add in your own notes or annotations. Like everything with the MPP it doesn't work 100% but it's pretty effective. And btw, the individual music files created and stored by the MPP's software are quite small... another bonus.

Conceptually, the MPP is spot-on and lots of people ask me about it every week. I could sell a bunch of them if the darn Freehand company put more effort into getting OS updates and bug fixes out in a timely manner and do a little better job on the interface. That's my only beef.

Top
#110782 - 11/06/06 10:26 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Scott Langholff Online   content
Senior Member

Registered: 06/09/02
Posts: 3163
Loc: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Hey Bill

Glad to see you back and having a rockin' and rollin' day.

Top
#110783 - 11/06/06 10:28 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Scott Langholff Online   content
Senior Member

Registered: 06/09/02
Posts: 3163
Loc: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Hey Esh

I take it that it wasn't convenient to just set the MPP on your music rack without the gizmo?

That's one thing I was wondering about should I decide to get one whether I'd need or want the stand or if it could just as easily sit on my Tyros 2 music rack?

Top
#110784 - 11/06/06 10:29 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Scott Langholff Online   content
Senior Member

Registered: 06/09/02
Posts: 3163
Loc: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Esh

Come to think about it, glad to see you back pokin' your nose in for a change.

Top
#110785 - 11/06/06 10:54 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Nigel Offline
Admin

Registered: 06/01/98
Posts: 6484
Loc: Ventura CA USA
I guess it would only have to fall off your music stand once to make that $99 seem like a pretty good investment.

Top
#110786 - 11/07/06 12:18 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Scott Langholff Online   content
Senior Member

Registered: 06/09/02
Posts: 3163
Loc: Pensacola, Florida, USA
Hey Nigel

Yes, I had been considering that point, unless I could think of a way to secure it to the rack.

Top
#110787 - 11/07/06 05:59 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Esh Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/05
Posts: 256
Loc: Hilton Head, SC, USA
Hi Scott, Nigel, et all:

The bottom of the Music Pad Pro is rounded and it slips off of everything, plus it's a little too deep for the average music stand although it does rest on some, like on an acoustic piano. The rounded bottom was either a clever strategy to sell you more stuff or a stupid idea, you decide. Buying the music stand gives you the screw-on bracket for the back of the MPP, the locking slide-in music stand mount, the music stand, and that small but valuable tabletop pole. It may be coincidence but the mounting bracket does seem to fit over most keyboard music stands and then it sort of "locks on" with the tabletop pole giving added support.

Top
#110788 - 11/07/06 06:39 AM Re: Freehand decision!
HankB Offline
Member

Registered: 01/23/05
Posts: 88
Loc: Bossier City, La. USA
My Musicpad works well in landscape mode on the G-70 music stand, Don and I used it on a gig the other night with no trouble. I do need to Velcro it to the stand for added protection, I just ordered another one for my second G-70. The advantage I see to the Musicpad is it’s not intrusive on stage, the complaint I hear about laptops is people thank you are doing Karaoke and you need a stand with second tier. The negative feature of the Music pad is that the opening screen is small with no way to change it, but I read Freehand is working on this problem and will fix it with a software update.

Hank

Top
#110789 - 11/07/06 06:41 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Bill in Dayton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2207
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
Esh-

I can't quite make it out from your picture, but looking at the rear of the MPP Music stand, where exactly does the bottom of it connect to your kb? Does it actually connect to the rear of the kb itself?

Currently I position a traditional music stand (with extenders) just above the rear edge of the Tyros....slightly underneath the actual display. Should the MPP and its stand be able to be positioned in a similar way?

Thanks-

Bill
_________________________
Bill in Dayton

Top
#110790 - 11/07/06 06:41 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Bill in Dayton Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 08/23/04
Posts: 2207
Loc: Dayton, OH USA
Esh-

I can't quite make it out from your picture, but looking at the rear of the MPP Music stand, where exactly does the bottom of it connect to your kb? Does it actually connect to the rear of the kb itself?

Currently I position a traditional music stand (with extenders) just above the rear edge of the Tyros....slightly underneath the actual display. Should the MPP and its stand be able to be positioned in a similar way?

Thanks-

Bill
_________________________
Bill in Dayton

Top
#110791 - 11/07/06 07:19 AM Re: Freehand decision!
Stephenm52 Offline
Senior Member

Registered: 04/13/05
Posts: 5126
Loc: USA
After spending $1199 on the MPP another $100 for the music stand wasn't going to break the bank. Overpriced yes, but I think it was worth it. As Hank B said the MPP is unobtrusive on stage, the optional stand helps keep it that way too.

Top
#110792 - 11/07/06 12:54 PM Re: Freehand decision!
Esh Offline
Member

Registered: 09/22/05
Posts: 256
Loc: Hilton Head, SC, USA
Quote:
Originally posted by Bill in Dayton:
Esh-

I can't quite make it out from your picture, but looking at the rear of the MPP Music stand, where exactly does the bottom of it connect to your kb? Does it actually connect to the rear of the kb itself?


The bottom of the MPP is sitting on a shelf of my piano's removable metal music stand. The MPP's music stand mount is "clamping" onto the stand itself. Without the MPP's tabletop music stand assembly in place, the MPP would slide off. It's sturdy - if I picked up the MPP the keyboard's music stand would come off with it. There is no direct connection between the keyboard and the MPP... that little silver tabletop pole is just reinforcing the MPP vertically.

Quote:
Originally posted by Bill in Dayton:

Currently I position a traditional music stand (with extenders) just above the rear edge of the Tyros....slightly underneath the actual display. Should the MPP and its stand be able to be positioned in a similar way?

Thanks-

Bill



Yes. However you'll want the MPP to be pretty close to you since you'll be calling up menus and/or songlists often, either with the MPP's plastic pen or as I do - with my fingernail. If reaching over the keyboard to select songs gets to be a nuisance then you'll probably want it closer.

Top
Page 1 of 3 1 2 3 >

Moderator:  Admin, Diki, Kerry 



Help keep Synth Zone Online